The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Brunei’s economy to contract by a whopping two per cent this year, a figure much lower than its October 2015 forecast of 3.2 per cent expansion for 2016, local news daily Brunei Times reported on May 6.

According to IMF’s latest Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and Pacific report, Brunei’s GDP forecast for the year continues a downward trend that started in 2013.

But the IMF, for some reason, expects the sultanate’s economy to rebound in 2017, with GDP seen to expand by three per cent. But this figure is lower than the 3.8 per cent growth projected in October 2015.

Brunei keeps struggling with low oil prices as it missed out on diversifying its economy on time. The majority of locals, most of them state-employed, will likely soon starting to feel the heat of subsidy cuts.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Brunei’s economy to contract by a whopping two per cent this year, a figure much lower than its October 2015 forecast of 3.2 per cent expansion for 2016, local news daily Brunei Times reported on May 6.

According to IMF’s latest Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and Pacific report, Brunei’s GDP forecast for the year continues a downward trend that started in 2013.

But the IMF, for some reason, expects the sultanate’s economy to rebound in 2017, with GDP seen to expand by three per cent. But this figure is lower than the 3.8 per cent growth projected in October 2015.

Brunei keeps struggling with low oil prices as it missed out on diversifying its economy on time. The majority of locals, most of them state-employed, will likely soon starting to feel the heat of subsidy cuts.